NH3 as a fuel – Research
Using ammonia as a sustainable fuel
C. Zamfirescu, I. Dincer
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ont., Canada L1H 7K4 ~ available since 17 July 2008
Conclusions
- Ammonia is the least expensive fuel in terms of $ GJ
- In terms of GJm ammonia becomes the third, after gasoline and LPG.
- There is an advantage of by-product refrigeration, 7.2% fromHHV, which reduces the costs and maintenance.
- Ammonia is the cheapest fuel per 100 km driving range as a reasonable and practical assumption.
- Some additional advantages of ammonia are commercial availability and viability, global distribution network, easy handling experience, etc., while its toxicity may be seen as a challenge.
- This can easily be overcome with the current control and storage
technologies.
Comparison of ammonia with other fuels and hydrogen
| Fuel/storage | P (bar) | Density (kgm-3) | HHV (MJ kg-1) | Energy density (GJm-3) |
Specific volumetric cost ($m-3) |
Specific energetic cost ($GJ-1) |
| Gasoline, C8H18/liquid tank | 1 | 736 | 46.7 | 34.4 | 1000 | 29.1 |
| CNG, CH4/integrated storage system | 250 | 188 | 55.5 | 10.4 | 400 | 38.3 |
| LPG, C3H8/presurized tank | 14 | 388 | 48.9 | 19.0 | 542 | 28.5 |
| Methanol, CH3OH/liquid tank | 1 | 749 | 15.2 | 11.4 | 693 | 60.9 |
| Hydrogen, H2/metal hydrides | 14 | 25 | 142 | 3.6 | 125 | 35.2 |
| Ammonia/pressurized tank | 10 | 603 | 22.5 | 13.6 | 181 | 13.3 |
| Ammonia, NH3/metal amines | 1 | 610 | 17.1 | 10.4 | 183 | 17.5 |
Performance of ammonia power systems and of other systems
| Fuel/system | εr (%) | $ 100km-1 | Range (km) |
| Gasoline/ICE | 24 | 6.06 | 825 |
| CNG/ICE | 28 | 6.84 | 292 |
| LPG/ICE | 28 | 5.10 | 531 |
| Methanol/reforming + fuel-cell | 33 | 9.22 | 376 |
| H2 metal hydrides/fuel-cell | 40 | 4.40 | 142 |
| NH3/direct ICE | 44 | 1.57 | 592 |
| NH3/Th decomp, ICE | 28 | 2.38 | 380 |
| NH3/Th decomp Sep, ICE | 31 | 2.15 | 420 |
| NH3/direct FC | 44 | 1.52 | 597 |
| NH3/Th. decomp + Sep, FC | 46 | 1.45 | 624 |
| NH3/electrolysis | 20 | 3.33 | 271 |
[...] If you polymerize nitrogen and hydrogen you get ammonia. As a fuel ammonia has, according to a study by researchers at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, a higher energy density than natural gas. Ammonia can also be used in existing ICEs. When burned, [...]